Last Living Souls
by Obvious Ghost
Summary: The club is asked about the end of the world. ('Parapocalypse' AU, based on the wallpaper under 'Extras'.)


**Bent: Papyrus**

I'm told the world used to be... brighter.

Can you imagine? Where we see gray, there used to be _green_. Blue, even. Red, and not just from the blood.

I think that's what hope would look like, you know? Colors. You'd see hope, and you'd see people, just... living their lives. Maybe even smiling. It's hard to believe now, but I guess it's easy to be happy when you have clean water. And clean air.

Things are different, though. This world is darker. Harder. Colder. It takes without giving anything back, and, uh, you can't trust anyone... it's a world without rules, and... um...

...

Pffft.

...Sorry. I just- I can't. I can't keep a straight face. Not saying _that_.

I mean, seriously, did you buy it? Don't tell me you bought it. I mean, maybe you did 'cause my acting boggles your mind, but that is some straight-up _baloney sandwich_ right there.

What, should I start whining? Complaining about how the world isn't this happy little paradise where food grows on trees and you don't gotta worry about _being_ food? Sorry, bud- if you're lookin' for that attitude, find Max. Truth is, life's pretty alright for our little cartel. Sure, once in a while Spender would ramble philosophical about 'back in the day'- his little joke, since he actually called the old years 'day' and nowtimes 'night'- but I don't think it was all that better than now. I asked him once if everyone was always happy, and he said no, so... what does that tell you?

We'd ask him about stuff like that all the time. Before he died, anyway.

Oh, I forgot to mention that? Sorry. Yeah, he got offed a few months back- I think Isaac prob'ly took it hardest. Still carries the guy's skull around, for Pete's sake. Whole skeleton, stripped bare by a pack of amigos in less than an hour.

...Uh, right. Amigos. No real story there, 'cept the first time Ed wrecked one'a those freaks, he screamed 'Adios, amigos' right before. I guess the name stuck, at least for me. Dunno why.

Hey, it's better than 'zombies'.

...Geez, you don't even know about them? How it started? Eh, ask somebody else. 'M not in the mood for telling long stories.

What, the bandages? They're just for show. We run into regular folks sometimes, and it helps to keep the intimidating look- you know, the boots and jacket and everything. An' if they think I have a few more scars than I really do... well, I'm just movin' paper around to impress people.

Don't worry. I'm just as strong as I need to be. And I can't _wait_ to prove it.

So yeah, like I said, the bandages are fake. As opposed to Isaac, who actually needs 'em and never uses any, and Ed, who keeps himself more covered up than I do.

Hm? You're gonna chat with those guys too? Don't get your hopes up. I don't mind talking about myself, but the others are... how to put this... not so forthcoming with their stories.

[]

**Bent: Tempest**

It's not about hope.

Hope doesn't matter. I know that sounds harsh, but believe me, it's not. Once you watch a dozen people crawling over each other to get past a wall, only for each and every one of them to be eaten alive by a mob of bloodthirsty monsters, hope stops being a factor.

You never really lose hope, not in the all-is-lost sense. You just stop caring.

That's not to say we're nothing more than animals, simply trying to survive. There's still much more to life than that, and it starts with honor. That's all that matters. You face down death with dignity and pride, knowing that even down to the last moment, you were who you were. You were not swayed by hunger, or pain, or fear. You were human. You were noble.

That's why I do what I do. That's why I ignore the voice that tells me to fight the way the monsters fight, to keep myself alive for one more day at the expense of others. And it's why I lead this group.

It's not about hope. But it's not about getting ahead, either. If I die tomorrow, I won't regret a thing.

...

...Heh. I suppose it _does_ look pretty strange, doesn't it? Fine, I'll tell you.

I wanted to take the glasses. Just so we'd remember him, you know? And the skull came with it. Just popped right off. I don't know how- maybe it's stuck on there with monster blood or something- but we were in a hurry, so I kept the whole thing. After that... I'm not sure. I didn't think it was right to just throw it away somewhere.

...No. No, you've got it wrong. We weren't friends. I respected Spender for his strength. I respected him because he took care of us.

But he was _not_ a good leader.

He kept things from us. Not just about himself, but the world, too. I'd ask him questions, about what he remembered, about our goals, things like that. And he'd just turn away. I think he believed it was noble, like he was keeping us away from the danger and the secrets. But there's no honor in hiding the truth.

And now, he's dead. We could have learned from him, but he refused to teach.

The others don't see it like that. Isabel didn't care what Spender did, and Ed... well, I won't pretend to know what he's _ever_ thought. And Max? Distrustful of everything and everyone, unwilling to let anybody help him, never telling us anything about himself.

Who do you think he learned that from?

I can be better. I'll be the leader, and I'll do it without lying.

[]

**Bent: Mechanic**

What do you want?

...Me? Why would you care about me?

Oh, don't give me that. That's not what I meant. Don't you dare turn this into some kinda 'woe is me, no one cares about me, I'm not worth saving' routine.

I mean it. Why would you care?

Listen, I have reasons for being here. That's all you need to know.

All right, let's put it another way. You want to hear my story, and it might be for some awful, manipulative reason. Or it might be for simple, innocent curiosity, which in itself is pointless and a waste of time. Either way, I don't see any profitable reason to share anything with you.

I'm not hiding something- I'm hiding _everything_. Any information I keep to myself is something I can use one day. I need to get where I'm going, do what I'm doing, and beyond that, I don't really care what happens. Get it?

Sorry you didn't get your story.

...

Alright, that's... fair, I guess. If you don't know much about what's going on, no reason not to fill you in.

We think it started with explosions. Some must have been underground, 'cause we keep finding craters, but they leveled buildings and nature stuff alike. I don't remember it, but Spender used to talk about the day it happened.

Fires. Earthquakes. Real 'collapse of civilization' and all that.

And yeah, the monsters didn't make it any easier. No idea where they came from. They basically play the bad guy in our end-of-the-world script, so I guess we're the heroes.

Hah.

We're looking for a permanent place. Somewhere safe, with enough food to keep us going for a while. But again, I don't really care. I'm just with these guys so I can find-

...Well, what do you know. You almost got me.

[]

**Bent: Graffiti**

It's nuthin'.

The air messes with my skin- some kinda allergic thing where I get rashes an' whatever. And the gas mask kinda looked like an old pair of glasses I liked, so there's that.

...What?

I'm serious. D'ja think I use the suit to cover up some big mystery? Sorry, but I'm not that complicated.

Dudn't really matter what you think of me, you know. Even if I had _un historia trágica_, I don't think I'd tell you much. Not because I'm closed off or weighed down emotionally or junk like that-

_-coughMaxcough-_

But the truth is, it doesn't really matter. If somethin's bad, I should let it go, and try'a make this current stuff a little better.

...Ha. The great thing is, you have no idea if I'm being serious right now.

It feels kinda good. You don't know what I really think, just like you don't know what I look like.

Ed the Mysterious. In da house.

...

Hm? You already didjer therapy sesh with Max and Isaac, too? Man, they're bein' _waaay_ too ser-yus about all this. Me 'n Izzy, though, we're on the same page.

I mean, you saw Isaac's getup, right? Like some old-timey general, worryin' about casualties an' troop reports or whatsit. An' it fits, too, 'cause that's how he thinks like _all the time._ Max is just as bad- swear he's gonna hurt himself scowlin' like that.

Can'cha have a little fun?

Oh, shoot! You know 'bout Quat yet? You _haveta gotsta_ meet him. First amigo I ever saw. Well, second, I guess. The first one's dead.

Short story short, he's been followin' us for a while, prob'ly lookin' to eat us or whatever. See him once in a while outside camp.

Check this out. He's got four heads, but he's so ridiculously big that only one can be awake at once, else'a whole thing'd just crash down. No joke. I _think_ thasswhy we only see one at a time, anyway. Needs to conserve energy or somethin'.

Named him Quatro. Quat's his shorter name, but I'm the only one who calls him either one. One time he actually got in, but a different head woke up and got so confused he just ran away. I just couldn't bring myself to murder the poor guy, you know?

...Ah, nuts, I better get goin'. Seems everybody's about ready to break camp an' start off.

Where? Jeez, I don't know. Where are we _ever_ going?

...Well, wanna find out?


End file.
